At the University of Greifswald’s Department of Finnish and Scandinavian Studies in the Faculty of Arts and Humanities, there is a job vacancy, expected to be available from 1 July 2019 for a period of 3 years for a part-time (65 %)

Research Assistant.

The position shall be financed by the German Research Foundation (DFG) and associated with the project ‘Narrating secularization. Studies on the beginning and the end of the narrative scheme of secularization in Scandinavian literature from 1900– 2000’.
Payment will be made according to pay group 13 TV-L Wissenschaft if the personal and pay group qualifications are met.

Project description:

Secularization commonly means the transition from a society based on religion to one based on secular legitimation. Between 1900 and 2000, the nearly undisputed plausibility of the concept was significant for a self-interpretation of European societies. The project is based on the observation that this perception has dwindled over the last 15 years in both academic and public discussions.

Literary studies open up new perspectives in the crisis concerning the concept of secularization: They understand secularization not as an inevitable historic process, but instead as a specific narrative scheme and thus a culturally established rule system, which enables the organization of various individual elements to derive a shared narrative meaning. As such, the narrative scheme provides an interpretive framework for organizing individual and collective experience in order to create a convincing narration.

The project aims to contribute from a Scandinavian literary perspective: Therefore, the project shall investigate how literature from Denmark, Norway and Sweden played a part in shaping and implementing the narrative scheme around 1900 and in dissolving or reorganizing it since 2000: Which voices articulate the narrative scheme and which positions are strengthened through these voices? Which specific literary methods of cultural self-interpretation have been used?

The project consists of several subprojects. The position holder shall perform research on the phase around 1900, when the narrative scheme was established. For further details about the project, please contact us via email (see address below).

Tasks:

• Research focusing on the subproject ‘Narrating secularization around 1900’ and writing of a monograph (in German or English, in cases of exception also in Danish, Norwegian or Swedish)
• Accompanying lecture activities related to the above-named subproject
• Administrative tasks related to the project
• Willingness to participate in project activities (e.g. research group, conferences, guest lectures etc.)
• Cooperation in further publications (e.g. conference proceedings) and writing project reports

Requirements:

• –  A master’s degree in a discipline related to the topic area (e.g. Nordic studies, Scandinavian studies, German or other philologies)
• –  Very good knowledge of German as well as Danish, Norwegian and Swedish
• –  Good written and spoken English
• –  A motivation letter related to the topic (max. 3 pages) The University would like to increase the proportion of women in areas in which they are underrepresented and thus applications from women are particularly welcome and will be treated with priority if they have the same qualifications and as long as there are no clear reasons which make a fellow applicant more suitable. Preference will be given to severely disabled applicants if they can provide equal qualifications.
  This job advertisement is directed at all persons, regardless of gender. Please take note of § 68(3) PersVG M-V. Unfortunately, the application costs will not be reimbursed by the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern. Applications comprising all usual documents in German or English (curriculum vitae, copies of academic certificates, copy of the master’s dissertation, if applicable – list of publications and a motivation letter, see above) should be sent with reference to the job advertisement number 19/Ma08 by the 05/04/2019, by post to: Universität Greifswald
  Institut für Fennistik und Skandinavistik Zu Hd. Prof. Dr. Joachim Schiedermair 17487 Greifswald email: joachim.schiedermair@uni-greifswald.de